Add Items to the Win+X Menu in Windows 8

Introduction

We already know that there is no Start Button and Start Menu on the desktop in Windows 8. Microsoft has decided to remove the Start Button and Start Menu in Windows 8. Many problems can happen to users who are unfamiliar with Windows 8 without the use of the Start Button and Start Menu.

But despite all these things Microsoft introduced something called the Win+X menu which is supposed to be a replacement for the Start Button in Windows 8. In Windows 8 a Win+X menu is provided instead of the Start screen button. It is a hidden context menu that is displayed when the user presses the Windows Key + X from the keyboard and it appears at the left corner of the desktop screen; that why it is known as the Win+X menu.

The Win+X menu is like your old Start Button that consists of the system programs and tools for the user to easily navigate without the start screen. It consists of many options such as Command Prompt, Disk Management, Task Manager and other tools.

We can also add other items that we use frequently to the Win+X menu. To add the programs we use frequently, the free tool WinXEditior allows us to add programs to the Win+X menu. You can download it from the following link:

http://winaero.com/download.php?view.21.

Steps to be followed

Step 1

Unzip the downloaded folder and open it.

Step 2

Open either the x64 or x86 folder. You will see the Win+X Menu Editor and the hashlnk executable files. Double-click on the WinXEditor.exe file to run the program.

Step 3

A Win+X Menu Editor for Windows 8 window is opened. There are already three groups of shortcuts displayed in the window.

Step 4

To create a shortcut we create a new group. Click the Add Group button from the bottom to create a new group.

The new group is added to the window and displayed at the top.

Step 5

Now, we add a shortcut for the program to the new group. Highlight the new group and click the Add Shortcut button from the bottom of the window. A dialog box appears.

In this article, we are going to add a shortcut of Paint to the Win+X menu.

Step 6

Now, navigate to the folder location of the exe file of the program to be added to the Win+X menu. Select the .exe file and click the open button.

This will add a shortcut to the new group.

Step 7

We can also change the name of the program that is displayed in the Win+X menu. By default, the name of the .exe file is used. Right-click the shortcut and select rename or we can use the shortcut key F2 to rename the folder.